2014 Australian Grand Prix

F1 team principals believe fans will quickly adjust to the sound of the new Formula One engines.

The first practice sessions featuring the new V6 turbo engines received mixed responses from fans at the track in Melbourne about how the sound of Formula One has changed.

However team principals hold the view that the new sound will gain acceptance.

“Personally I like the sound of the engines,” said Williams deputy team principal Claire Williams.

“But then I love Formula One and I love watching car go round a race track. I think people pretty quickly get used to what Formula One engine sound like. We’ve had so many changes over so many decades of motor racing and you very quickly forget what a previous engine sounds like.”

“I think people just want to see a good race on Sunday and I thin as long as we can deliver that then I think that any issues or contentious conversations around that may fade away.”

Wolff said: “If you like sound of engines let’s go back to V10 and V12s, let’s not do any hybrid. This is a modern technology, this is how road cars go, downsizing is the motto and I think we just accept that the formula has changed.”

“These cars are going to go quicker in a couple of races than the old ones. You’re going to get used to the sounds and I promise next year around you will not notice and not remember any difference any more.”

100 comments on Fans will ‘get used to sound of new engines’ – teams

On TV you can’t even talk about sound, because you don’t hear it. When turn up the volume, I hear sound, but want to kill the commentator. For now , it is very boring. I’m glad that I not paid for this season, it is a waste of money. If you want to know, take a race from last year and put your finger in your ears, pffff

Part of the problem for me, and this actually started with about a quarter of last season to go, is that the BBC has literally made it so we cannot hear any on track activity at all (by lowering the FOM feed volume).

The 2014 cars sound terrible. It is a calamity if we lose the sound of F1. To those that don’t like the high-pitched harmonics produced by an engine revving at maximum RPMs – I would hazard a guess that you are in the extreme minority and not the majority.

By the way, I would also suggest that there is a danger of our losing some of the unique character that has defined the sport, and that unquestionably includes the sound of an F1 engine between 12-18rpm. I doubt that most of the people who attend the race would prefer a non-engaging subdued and monotonous lawnmower or leaf-blower sound, even if the more sensitive of hearing need to wear ear plugs. I say, Bravo VJ for speaking you mind, and I agree with you whole-heartedly. LETS BRING BACK THE REAL SOUND OF F1!

You could feel the V8’s & V10’s as well and moved the hairs on the back of your neck. And made you skin tingle especially if you were sat at the back of the Woodcote Grandstand ……..so it was an assault on all of your senses :). ….. This generation of cars don’t do that.

I love F1 for the racing and I doubt that the new family friendly exhausts will detract too much from the TV broadcasts, but the reason I attend GPs in person is for the ear shattering, mind numbing, sensory overload that is an F1 engine on song. Sadly, I will not be attending any further GPs while this poor excuse for the pinnacle of motorsport is allowed to persist – bring back the atmosphere that a GP should be.

From a fan watching at home the noise seems ok. But as a fan at the track the noise and vibration is very important. At a race it likely that you only see the cars for a few seconds a lap and will miss much of the racing, unlike at home with all the TV cameras. So as a paying trackside fan the noise & feeling F1 generates makes me spend my money. The good racing is best viewed at home with the aid of media.

Today is my third day at the Aus GP. Both the Porsche Carrera Cup Cars and V8 Touring Cars are MUCH louder than the new F1 cars. When the F1 cars pull out of pit lane they sound like a hedge trimmer and down the straight they almost sound like MotoGP bikes. Hugely disappointed!

Unfortunately F1 has had its testicles removed. These cars are not thrilling to watch in person. The sound of previous years cars was astounding – you could FEEL them coming past, and hear them from kilometers away. The whole experience has lost an important dimension, like others have said, the sound is no longer special. The carrera cup cars were more thrilling today. I’m concerned that next year’s cars will be run on ethically sourced fair trade vegan custard. Tomorrow, after I watch the two seater Minardi and the speed comparison with last year’s car, I am going to set fire to myself and run onto the track in protest…

Today I watched a Volvo on a racetrack and it offered more excitement than the F1. To quote “the fans will get used to it” is saddening to me. I have grown up with F1, as a kid I watched the likes of Hunt, as I got older heroes were replaced by Sienna and the like. F1 should be raw, frightening and awe inspiring to watch. Today it was quiet, slow and boring. I hate the gelding of this sport, I never thought I would actually see the point at which F1 lost its mojo.
I truely hope The FIA step back, take a look at what F1 is supposed to be and bring it back.

Having a high definition TV flat screen with a Bose surround sound it was enjoyable to watch Formula One with it’s nothing like it on earth sounds of that engineering marvel. Now after P2 I didn’t even bother to now watch qualifying. I was looking forward to to get airfare and tickets to Texas but not now. I might as well pull my front teeth out and watch NASCAR.

I used to enjoy sitting up watching the F1 on the TV. With the sound of these new cars that will no longer be happening. I am switching off to F1. Again all the other changes to the cars is just making the sport pathetic. A Prius may have more technology, but that does not make it better. Has the FIA been taken over by The Greens Party. I am watching something else on TV this weekend.

First and foremost I do not like the “level” of the new noise of F12014… Neither on TV nor when I attended preseason testing in Jerez. I too watched the race from Melbourne on TV – although I live in Spain I receive and wTch the races on SKYSPORTS F1 HD which also transmits the sound in Dolby Digital 5.1 ……what I have noticed is that when watched just through the TV without Cinema Sound amp and speakers on all the sound channels are mixed into just two – when you watch with Cinema Sound Equipment turned on, the commentary is only through the centre speaker and the Car/track noises though the remaining 4 plus the Subwoofer – I turned off the middle speaker and wacked up the volume on the rest and was quite happily immersed and nicely surprised in fantastic sounds and noises and at a really decent level ( you still hear the commentary but at much better balanced levels)….. The problem is not so much with the sounds/noise but more the level/volume of those noises….. For TV viewers FOM can fix things a little by getting a bit more creative with the “World Feed” and make adjustments on the sound mixing desk to ramp up certain frequencies better….. The broadcasters can also help by lowering the commentators sound channel and allow more of the trackside sounds through.
SKY at least in UK seem to have their commentary sound channel way to high which all but drowns out the cars….. I don’t mind Crofty (would have preferred Ben Edwards a la BBC) but he’s just a little too loud at the moment (Obviously this isn’t going to fix things trackside but after these minor adjustments I was quite satisfied whilst watching yesterday.

I think there is potential to fix it trackside too – it’s a radical fix – but possible I reckon – go back to page 2 of these comments I posted it earlier there.

I wasn’t concentrating on the visual at the start and only heard the sound. I thought I’d tuned into the wrong race and had got the Smart Car final, as that’s what it sounded like! 20+ Smart Cars going around..